24 days...

that's right, in twenty four days we're heading back out to kansas, i know mom and pops must be thrilled- but after being with us all summer, i would hate for them to go cold-turkey and start suffering from withdrawal symptoms, so really we're doing them a favor, right?....love you mom & pops, you guys are great! :)

the five buck find...

so i was at the thrift store in seneca when i stumbled onto this amazing blue paisley chair... priced for like 5 bucks, i mean really, how can there possibly be a down-side. well......this also happened to be probably one of the hottest weeks of summer. i was in jeff's flex-mobile and still needed to run into a few other stores...so i ran my errands and then got back into the car and nearly passed out. it smelled of rotten mayo on lettuce, which i've honestly never smelled before, but if i did, i'm sure that's what it would be like. i couldn't figure it out- did we leave a bag of fast food trash in the car while we were driving out? it was driving me nuts and i was gasping for clean air. it wasn't until i got home and unloaded this amazing five buck find when i realized it was the chair that reeked and was currently being baked by the sun which only amplified it's lovely aroma. it took us 3 months to get that nasty smell out of the car, but on a side note, the chair did photograph really well...and this session was it's debut. 

snips and snails, and puppy dog tails...

this was such a sweet couple and their little guy was a bundle of energy. he and taya were born within days of each other, and i think they would have a ball playing with each other, both very energetic, engaging and independent....love it.

six degrees of kevin bacon...

have you ever wondered how interconnected you are with the rest of the world?..... so this was a family session from the summer and the crazy thing is they have relatives that live here in morton....crazy, huh? it really is a small world.... a very sweet, very beautiful family....thanks guys. :)

Senior's rule...

so this was another senior session from the summer, and i'll tell you what senior guys are so much fun to photograph!..... but it may also be that these senior's are just a really great group of guys. Though i must say, after photographing some of their interests it does scare me a bit being a mother of a son and realizing they have an innate need to be dare-devil's....yikes.

"take 2"...

this was another family i photographed last summer, but thankfully this time we were not under a tornado watch and nobody fell into the sewer....oh my.... the energy was great, the kids even had some ideas for photo's in which we implemented and got some great images. thanks guys, you did great! :)

it's like christmas...

my oldest brother had some business clients to meet in kansas, so he and his family visited mom & pops for just under a week. jaden was SUPER-EXCITED, as his cousin is his best friend. it was like christmas in july being able to spend time with all my family at different times when we are all so spread out. we got a few shots to update mom's collage of the grandchildren on her wall. i must say, i sure do have some pretty cute nieces and nephews! :)

peas and carrots...

....growing up my cousin and i were like "peas and carrots". we lived in the same apartment in college and were in each other's weddings, so i love the fact that our kids have fun together. this summer we got to hang out at the park and pool together, it was great, i look forward to many more good times.... :)

senior's rock...

so this was my first senior session of the summer and we had a blast. it's crazy though, i remember being in his parent's wedding and i don't feel that old. He's quite the stud now.........  and yes, i do still think he resembles zac efron.....but sweeter. His sister is pretty great too, she helped out in babysitting the kids 1 day a week 

vbs...

so since we were in kansas the whole summer we decided to take advantage of all the local activities, meaning summer reading, two vbs's which the kids loved, two parades, two county fairs, the rodeo and swimming lessons. I was able to help in josie's class a few days in one of the vbs's. They did a project where the younger kids made their own picture frames and then put pictures of themselves in it to take home, so my niece and i had fun photographing for that, here's a few of the shots.

alpaca's

it's not every day that you get a call to photograph alpaca's, so i was really excited. they are very interesting. and this family is amazing, you can spend a minute with them and walk away inspired. they have developed their own feed that ships out all over the country, and the different uses and projects that they've made from the fiber is art.... kind of makes me want to start knitting again.

Footloose...

last summer i photographed these girls, whom i absolutely adore their personalities. So, it was a real treat this summer when their mom requested pictures but with their new little brother too. i think he and his dad might have their work cut out for them in the future!...so adorable.

Reason #42...

now this was definitely a memorable session. so, i was photographing my cousin and his beautiful, beautiful family at a small pond in town, the setting was beautiful, the kids were great, everything is perfect, right? well yes, except for the fact that i decided to wear white shorts and ended up sitting in moss....yeah...nasty. I won't even go into detail on what it looked like, well as if that wasn't bad enough, i needed to run to the store after the session....loveliness...and that would be reason #42 on why NOT to wear white shorts on a session! 

the dimples will get you...

it was sooo hot out when i photographed these boys, but they were super-troopers and not to mention very sweet with each other, which i am sure is the case all the time, right? :).....and i loved, loved, loved the dimples, i mean really, who can resist them? 

Blessed...

One thing i love about photographing is re-connecting with so many people. I think i originally met this gal at my cousin's birthday party back when i was in sixth grade or something like that. I remember thinking it was funny that we shared the same name, there weren't too many of us. I never found my name on those keychains at amusement park gift shops and if people didn't know me they were guaranteed to mis-pronounce it. I remember even writing in a pronunciation key in first grade when i entered a drawing (care-uh)....sad....very sad. Anyways, now she's married and a hip mom of two beautiful kids....so sweet! :)